How to download FilmCraft safely: the official links, the right file, and your first edit

FilmCraft is a free, open source video editor that works like Adobe Premiere Pro, and searches for "FilmCraft download" and "is FilmCraft safe" have jumped since it launched in October 2026. When an app gets popular this fast, look-alike download sites follow. This guide shows you where the real downloads are, which file to pick for your computer, how to check you got the genuine app, and how to make your first edit.

The short version

• Only download FilmCraft from two places: the FilmCraft page on getartcraft.com, or the releases page on GitHub at github.com/storytold/filmcraft.
• Easiest option: the free ArtCraft Launcher, which picks the right file for your computer and checks it for you.
• On Windows, most people want the 64-bit .msi installer. On a Mac, the .dmg works on both Apple silicon and Intel. On Linux, Flatpak or AppImage are the simplest.
• It's free. No account, no subscription, no watermark and no payment. There's no paid or "Pro" version, so any site selling one, or asking for card details, isn't official.

Is FilmCraft safe?

Yes, if you get it from the official sources below. FilmCraft is open source, so anyone can read every line of its code on GitHub. ArtCraft says its Windows installers are code-signed and its Mac app is signed and notarized by Apple. Each release also lists a fingerprint for every file, so you can check your download is exactly what ArtCraft published. Step 4 shows you how.

What isn't safe is a FilmCraft download from a site you don't know. Software download directories already list it, and when an app gets popular, look-alike sites usually follow, as they did for PhotoCraft. None of them are run by ArtCraft, and a modified installer is an easy way to spread malware.

Step 1: Go to an official source

FilmCraft is made by ArtCraft, the team behind PhotoCraft, and its code lives on GitHub under the account called storytold. These are the only official places to get it:

• getartcraft.com/apps/filmcraft, ArtCraft's own download page.
• github.com/storytold/filmcraft/releases, where every version is published first.
• github.com/storytold/craft-launcher/releases, for the ArtCraft Launcher.

Before you click a download button, check the address bar says getartcraft.com or github.com/storytold.

Good to know: GitHub sometimes has a newer version than getartcraft.com shows, because new releases appear there first. Both are official.

Step 2: Choose how to install

You have two good options.

Option A: the ArtCraft Launcher (recommended). A small free app that installs FilmCraft and the other Crafting Apps, picks the right build for your computer, checks each download for you, and tells you when updates are out. If you think you'll also try PhotoCraft or the others, start here.

Option B: download FilmCraft on its own. Pick the file for your computer from the list below. Each one is around 50 to 75 MB, small for a video editor.

Step 3: Pick the right file

On the GitHub releases page, open the newest release (it's marked Latest) and look under Assets. The version number in the file name changes every few days, so just pick the newest one. At the time of writing it's 0.9.0.

Windows

• Most PCs (Windows 10 and 11): the file ending in windows-x64.msi. Double-click it to install.
• Can't install apps, or want to run it from a USB stick? The windows-x64-portable.zip. Unzip it and run FilmCraft from the folder.
• Windows laptops with ARM chips (such as Snapdragon): the windows-arm64.msi.
• Very old 32-bit Windows: the windows-x86.msi.
• Not sure which you have? Open Settings, then System, then About, and look at System type.

Mac

• The macos-universal.dmg works on both Apple silicon (M1 and later) and Intel Macs. Open it and drag FilmCraft into your Applications folder. It's signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.

Linux

• Flatpak: sandboxed and easy to remove. Download the .flatpak file for your processor (x86_64 for most PCs, aarch64 for ARM), then install it:

flatpak install --user filmcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.flatpak

• AppImage: nothing to install. Make the file executable and run it:

chmod +x filmcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./filmcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage

• Ubuntu or Debian: the .deb file. Fedora or openSUSE: the .rpm file. There's also a tarball that installs without admin rights, plus builds for FreeBSD and RISC-V.

What about the other files? The filmcraft-cli file is a command-line version for scripts and AI assistants, and filmcraft-web is a version you can host on your own server. Most people can ignore both.

Step 4: Check you got the real thing

If you used the ArtCraft Launcher, it has already checked your download. If you downloaded the file yourself, you can check it in under a minute. Every release includes a file called SHA256SUMS.txt, which lists a unique fingerprint for each download. Work out your file's fingerprint and make sure it matches the line for that file.

On Windows, open PowerShell in your Downloads folder and run:

Get-FileHash .\filmcraft-<version>-windows-x64.msi -Algorithm SHA256

On a Mac, open Terminal and run:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/filmcraft-<version>-macos-universal.dmg

On Linux, run:

sha256sum filmcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage

If the long string of letters and numbers matches the one in SHA256SUMS.txt, the file is exactly what ArtCraft published. If it doesn't match, delete it and download it again from GitHub.

About security warnings: because FilmCraft is brand new, Windows may still show a "Windows protected your PC" message the first time. If you downloaded it from an official source and the fingerprint matches, you can choose More info and then Run anyway. Never do that for a file from anywhere else.

Step 5: Your first edit

If you've used Premiere Pro, you'll feel at home: the panels, workspaces and keyboard shortcuts are the same. If you haven't, this gets you from clips to a finished video.

1. Start a project and bring in your clips. Create a new project, then import a few video clips and a music track. FilmCraft reads common camera and phone video, including H.264 and HEVC from iPhones, and ProRes. Use copies of your footage while FilmCraft is in alpha.
2. Put them on the timeline. Drag your first clip onto the timeline to start a sequence, then drag the others after it. Drop the music on an audio track underneath.
3. Cut out the boring bits. Use the razor tool to split a clip, then delete the part you don't want and close the gap.
4. Add a title. Pick the Type tool, click on the video in the Program monitor and type. You can change the font, colour and shadow in the Properties panel.
5. Fix the colour. Open the Color workspace and use the Lumetri Color panel to brighten, warm up or add a look, while the scopes show what's happening.
6. Export it. Open Export, pick H.264, and save an MP4. Export also lists YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok and Instagram as destinations.

Keeping FilmCraft up to date

New versions arrive every few days and often fix bugs, so it's worth updating often.

• ArtCraft Launcher: it checks for updates and tells you when there's a new version.
• AppImage on Linux: it can update itself with AppImageUpdate.
• Everything else: download the newest installer from GitHub and install it over the old one.

If something goes wrong

• On Windows, the app flashes and closes: some graphics drivers, especially on AMD laptops with two graphics chips, can crash FilmCraft before its window appears. Update your graphics drivers first. If that doesn't help, the FilmCraft README on GitHub shows how to start it with a different graphics setting.
• Playback stutters on big footage: FilmCraft uses your computer's video hardware to play most files, but colour grading and exporting still run on the main processor for now. Try a lower playback resolution while you edit.
• Your Premiere project won't open: FilmCraft can't open Premiere's own .prproj files yet. Export your sequence from Premiere as Final Cut Pro XML instead, and open that.
• Reporting a bug: the team asks for reports on GitHub or their Discord, ideally with the clip that caused the problem. Real footage is the most useful thing you can send.

How ready is it?

FilmCraft is in alpha. Its team estimates it already has about 86% of Premiere Pro's features, but is about 56% of the way to replacing it on real projects. Those are the team's own numbers. It has no plug-in support yet, exports H.264 as its main delivery format, and gets more testing on Mac than on Windows and Linux. It's great for learning, hobby projects and side work today. For paid client work, keep your current editor and try FilmCraft alongside it.

Want the other Crafting Apps too?

FilmCraft is one of thirteen free Crafting Apps from ArtCraft. The ArtCraft Launcher installs any of them in one click, including EffectCraft for motion graphics, SoundCraft for recording and mixing audio, and PhotoCraft for photos. See how FilmCraft compares with Kdenlive, DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro on our FilmCraft page, or read our guide to the Crafting Apps.